With many midstate colleges starting classes on Monday, a far-reaching federal affordable college plan probably isn’t as important to area students as memorizing the quickest route to the class, even if such a plan could have a profound impact on their future.

View full sizeStudent check-in was a lot more low-key Sunday afternoon at Wilson College in Chambersburg, where students socialized after a welcoming picnic. Jeremy Arias | PennLive.com

The plan, outlined by President Barack Obama in a series of speeches at higher education institutions across the Northeast this past week, focused on instilling a value rating system for colleges and universities to receive federal funding. Essentially, colleges would be rated based on their affordability through scholarships and other means, as well as student performance and success after graduation, according to Obama's plan.

The president also pledged to lower student loan payments by putting a cap on monthly payments based on the borrower’s income. Given the approval of the legislature, Obama’s plan would cap a borrower’s loan payment to 10 percent of their monthly income.

While most students in the midstate seemed generally supportive of Obama’s plan to tie federal aid to college affordability and performance, many were more skeptical of the president’s plan to ease the burden of student loans.

Daniela Kenmure, 23, a senior at Wilson College in Chambersburg, said she would need more information about the loan cap before making a judgment. When it comes to college debt, the devil is in the details, she said.

“If we weren’t accruing more interest than it would be a good deal, but if there’s constantly more interest coming in and we’re only paying 10 percent of our income, what if that’s not a lot?” She said. “You’re not going to be able to pay anything off quickly.”

As an out-of-state student to the college from New Jersey, Kenmure was well-acquainted with the sting of interest rates on even relatively small loans.

“Right now I already have a $900 interest on a $2,000 loan and I haven’t even graduated yet,” she said.

Kenmure’s friend, Cristina Trevino, 20, also was worried about finding herself in debt after college. Trevino, a junior, already has worked out what she will owe.

“By the time I graduate I’ll have about $40,000 in loans, which is technically what it takes to come here for one year, so it’s technically not that bad,” she said. “But it’s still $40,000, which is not exactly lying around in your back pocket.

Meanwhile, other students, like Tyler Skroski, 22, who is a senior digital communications major at Lebanon Valley College, were more even-handed about the president’s plan, especially in regards to capping monthly loan payments.

“It definitely makes sense because everything adds up,” he said of Obama’s plan. “But if I understand it correctly, the monthly payment will be lower but you’ll be paying it off longer, so it works out to be about the same. If you have more money, you’re going to be able to pay it off more quickly.”

Students were more optimistic regarding the president’s plan to incentivize affordability in colleges and universities, especially considering how expensive tuition rates are.

Harry Swanson, 18, signed in for his freshman year during a ceremony at the Old West in Dickinson College late Sunday afternoon. For Swanson, who is from Virginia, Dickinson’s availability of financial aid played a huge role in his decision to enroll at Dickinson.

“They said in the speech that, four years here is close to a quarter of a million dollars without any scholarships,” he said. “I got at least half off of my tuition in scholarships and then a work-study program, which was really beneficial, so this ended up being one of my cheaper colleges I applied to.”

Swanson’s roommate, Schazz Lee, 18, who also is a freshman, said his mind was made up in a similar fashion.

“Basically all the schools that I applied to, it was depending on scholarships and financial aid,” Lee said.